Targeting those with a “slavish mentality” for opposing the reconstruction of the Somnath temple soon after Independence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday that such people are still around and the country should remain vigilant and united to thwart “every such power trying to divide us”.
“If any country has an approximately 100-year-old heritage, it presents it as its identity. Bharat has 1,000 year old places like Somnath. These are examples of our capability and traditions. Unfortunately, after Independence, those with a slavish mentality tried to get this history forgotten. Among those forgotten were those who tried to defend Somnath including Raval Kanhad, Veer Hamirji Gohil, Vegada Bhil. Unfortunately they didn’t get much importance,” he said.
“Some historians and politicians tried to whitewash the actions of the attackers. They wrote off these attacks as normal loot in books that were written. Somnath was not attacked once but time and again. If it was only for material loot, then after the first loot, they would have stopped. That didn’t happen. There were repeated efforts to change the nature of the temple. The true history of hate, torture and terror was hidden from us,” he said.
“No religious person would condone such fanaticism. But tushtikaran ke thekedaar (the contractors of appeasement) bent their knees. When India became free and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took the pledge to rebuild Somnath, efforts were made to stop him. When President Rajendra Prasad wanted to come here in 1951, objections were raised over his visit. At that time, the Jam Saheb, Maharaja Digvijaysinhji, stepped in, kept national pride and gave Rs 1 lakh in donation. He took over a lot of responsibility as president of the (Somnath) trust,” he said.
Recalling his speech during the consecration of the idol at the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Modi said, “Unfortunately, there are still those in our country who oppose the reconstruction of the Somnath temple. But today, instead of swords, their conspiracies involve other weapons. So we must be more careful and make ourselves strong, be united and stop every such power trying to divide us. When we stay with our heritage and protect it, its roots become stronger. And that’s why the remembrance of the past 1,000 years gives us inspiration to be ready for the next 1,000 years. On the occasion of the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, I gave my virat sapna (grand dream) for the next 1,000 years… Today, every countryman has belief in a Viksit Bharat. We will defeat poverty and touch new heights. First, becoming the world’s third largest economy. We are ready to march ahead,” he said.
Early in his address, he made it clear: “This is not a remembrance of the destruction but of resilience of our culture. Of the pride of this country.”
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He gave a timeline of the attacks on the Somnath temple and how it was rebuilt each time. “Many attempts were made to destroy Somnath. Similarly, for many centuries, others tried to destroy India but neither did Somnath get destroyed, nor did Bharat. Because Bharat and its Aastha Kendras are intermingled with each other.”
“When attackers from Ghazni to Aurangzeb came to Somnath, they believed they had defeated Sanatan Somnath with swords. Those mazhabi kattarpanti (religious fanatics) couldn’t understand that the Somnath they wanted to destroy has the word which means amrit. Even after drinking poison, it remains eternal,” he said.
Modi also spoke on lion conservation, and infrastructure facilities developed for Somnath including airports at Keshod and Rajkot, the Ahmedabad-Veraval Vande Bharat train, and other works under the Yatra Dham development initiatives.
